The DePauw University’s men’s soccer team got their weekend started in the rain with a 2-2 draw vs. Marian University on Friday night.
The back and forth game wouldn’t see its first goal until the middle of the second half with a beautifully taken penalty kick from senior forward, Julian Gonzalez.
The Tigers were missing one of their leading goal scorers, senior forward Zach Hoffman. Hoffman was unable to play due to a red card in a double overtime tie against Kalamazoo College on Sept. 3.
The Tigers were able to hold the lead until the 85 minute mark when a Marian forward was able to take advantage of a deflection off senior goalkeeper Harrison Glover to even the score.
The last minute of regular time saw two penalty kicks, one awarded to each team. Both were converted to goals with Gonzalez scoring on his kick, bumping up his goal total to two for the season.
The match then moved to overtime, tied at 2-2 where neither team could find the back of the net. With eight minutes left to play in overtime, the match officials spotted lightning in the area and called the match.
Coach Brad Hauter said the team was frustrated after the match. “We were uncharacteristically undisciplined and let them off the hook in a number of ways,”said Hauter.
The Tigers advanced to 1-0-2 on the season and looked to move forward to their match on Sunday against Case Western Reserve.
The team faced a six-hour drive to Cleveland, but the travel did not seem to faze the Tigers as they topped Case Western Reserve 2-1 .
Hoffman returned to the field in the match-up and was immediately effective, scoring a goal within the six-yard box at the 35 minute mark. Hoffman has two goals on the season.
The Tiger defense featuring senior Grant Plummer, and sophomores TJ Chulick and Andrew Gold were able to keep Case Western scoreless until the 58 minute mark when Case Western Reserve senior midfielder, Jacob Grindel, leveled the score.
The game winner would come from a Julian Gonzalez penalty kick with five minutes left in play. This was Gonzalez’s third penalty kick goal of the weekend and his third goal of the season.
Gonzalez attributed the victory to all players on the team stepping up. “The biggest reason we were successful was our ability to play as a team. No individual stood out and everyone knew their responsibility and played to the best of their ability,” Gonzalez said. “When we play like we did yesterday; it will be very difficult for teams to stop us.”
Sophomore midfielder Justin Mitchell also thought the team’s cohesiveness was a factor. “Our team play throughout the match was incredible and I think that it played major role in taking down a tough Case team,” said Mitchell.
Senior goalkeeper Glover did well to stop Case Western’s late attack, saving two shots on goal within the last four minutes of play.
DePauw improves to 2-0-2 on the year and looks ahead to more success with their next non-conference match of the season against Franklin College tonight.
“This team’s biggest strength appears to be their mental toughness” said Hauter. “Nothing phases them or gets them rattled.”
